By Tyler Heffernan

Yup, heading into the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament, I have managed to keep my beloved bracket from the crumpled depths of a trash can and mounted on top of the office pool.

ESPN.com noted only one of 8.15 million submissions in its online challenge had an unblemished submission through the first 24 games. Who’s winning now, Charlie Sheen?

Granted, that one person wasn’t me, because I didn’t fill out a bracket on ESPN. And, I’ve heard nothing about it belonging to Mr. Sheen.

A mathematics professor at DePaul Unviversity estimated the odds of picking a perfect bracket are one in 9.2 quintillion. Before the latest Powerball lottery was claimed, the odds of winning that were one in 176 million.

Further, the odds of being struck by lightning are one in 576,000. And, heck, the odds of bowling a perfect 300 score are one in 11,500.

It’d be more likely for me to be struck by lightning holding a winning lottery ticket after bowling a 300 than my current bracket streak.

Unlike most of you, I didn’t write off Harvard, which has produced more U.S. Presidents than NBA players. No. 12 Oregon and No. 12 California beating No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 5 UNLV, respectively – duh.

I bought into the Florida Gulf Coast vibe. And, more people should have seen La Salle sneaking into the Sweet Sixteen.

With all the “second chance” bracket challenges popping up online, I can’t reveal my Final Four picks, because, frankly, you winning money off of my expertise just ain’t right.

But, what I can tell you is how I’ve managed to have a perfect bracket. Grab some paper and a pen; this could pay off for you.

Lie about it.

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